This invention concerns warning means for alerting the driver of an automotive vehicle to potentially hazardous driving conditions, and more particularly relates to a warning device interactive between a vehicle and the roadway upon which the vehicle travels.
Most highway warning systems in present use rely upon visually perceivable characteristics such as lights, flares, flags, signs, barriers, lane markers and the like. Although effective under mild weather conditions permitting good visibility, such visually perceived devices lose effectiveness under conditions of fog, snow, dust storms and heavy rain, particularly during nighttime hours. Certain easily developed lightweight highway markers are easily blown away in moderate winds, and occupy considerable storage volume.
Highway warning systems which rely upon audibly perceivable characteristics such as horns and sirens find use particularly by vehicles as a means for alerting other vehicles. Specially grooved highway surfaces are in use which produce sound and vibration when the tires of the vehicle roll over the grooves. Such grooved surfaces, however, are fixed installations which do not warn of any unusual hazard of a transient nature but instead indicate special road conditions such as an impending sharp curve, which always require more than the usual amount of driving caution. The grooved surfaces also lose effectiveness when coated with light accumulations of less than one inch of ice or snow. Another limitation of grooved roadways is that such expedient is applicable only with costly concrete constructions that are impractical on all but major highways.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a portable warning device capable of deployment upon a roadway of any surface characteristics.
It is another object of this invention to provide a device as in the foregoing object which produces sound and mechanical vibration when the wheels of a vehicle roll thereover.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a device of the aforesaid nature unaffected by moderate winds and light accumulations of ice or snow.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a device of the aforesaid nature capable of being quickly deployed from a compact storage state.
An additional object of this invention is to provide an improved warning device of the aforementioned nature of simple and rugged construction which may be economically manufactured.
These objects and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.